Yachts are seen as a luxury experience that are normally associated with rich people. The Greek yacht and shipping industry have been a strong business for over 10,000 years. Some of the most famous magnates of the twentieth century have used the shipping industry to make their fortune. The Greeks have maintained their passion for the sea, which is revered as the a beautiful element and believing it possessed Godlike powers. To this day they still use the sea for many explorations and have continued to keep the sea as part of their way of life.

Greek yachts are more popularly used for sailing holidays for younger people and families, travelling around the Ionian Islands. However, yachts have not always been used for vacations and family holiday explorations. Yachts were a very effective method of travelling on sea because of its lightweight build and fast sailing vessel. The Dutch Navy were commonly found to use them for capturing pirates, which were for a long time a major problem on the Greek islands.

History

The word pirate is a derivative from the Latin Pirata and the Greek Peiras meaning attempting and experience. Pirates were known as rebellious violent people who committed robbery at sea, they were more active and prominent during the early 17th and 18th century, particularly among the Mediterranean and Caribbean coasts. Though Greek yachts were not used to capture pirates, pirates had used their knowledge of shipping and sailing to invade the islands creating their own base.

Early pirate activities have been recorded to date back as far as Ancient Greek and Roman periods around 500 BC. Ancient Greek pirates used the Lipari Islands as their base for over 2000 years; Crete was the main homeland and haven for pirates for almost 800 years, until the Rhodeans had begun patrolling the Mediterranean Sea, with the sole purpose of removing pirates from the island.

Other Greek Islands that suffered from many pirate attacks were Paros and Corfu. Paros officials were forced to build fortresses around the island to prevent any further attacks, whilst the people of Corfu were pushed to seek help from the Romans. The Greeks and the Romans together had spent years fighting against pirates, and had successfully deterred many away from the island.

The pirates had built their own lairs in and around Greece, making life difficult for religious officials to build their monasteries in certain areas for fear of being attacked. Saracen pirates, had created their own base on the small island of Gavdos, where the inhabitants lived in fear secretly cultivating their field to avoid trouble. Locals avoided settling near the bay and sea, as this would normally attract many pirates travelling across the sea.

Some of the effects of pirate attacks are still evident in certain parts of the island. The narrow twisting roads and paths were built to further deter pirates off the island, and are prevalent for tourist attraction. Tourists today can even experience the slippery mosaic paths, which were made to slow down the movement of invaders and attackers. Pirates are no longer a threat in Greece, however the shipping industry is thriving even today and people can enjoy the historical remnants of what is left from pirate bases.

Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem

The Companions of our Prophet Muhammed (salallaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam) used to gather to remember death so that they would benefit their souls by increasing in fear of Allaah and strive to gain His pleasure. If this was the case of the Sahaabah and they were the best of generations, the most pious and God-fearing of this ummah, then what about us? Surely, it means that we need to engage in the remembrance of Allaah – The Most Perfect, The Most High – even more. After all, we are in far more need of this act of worship than they were.

Let us begin at the end of a man’s life, in his last moments. He is lying on his death bed and his family are at his side. His father is calling for the doctor. His wife asks him: “To whom are you leaving us?”. The man’s little daughter asks him, “Why do you not answer me?”, and his small boy cries but nobody responds to him. This is the situation Allaah, The Most High and The Most High, has informed us about:

“Nay, when the soul reaches the throat, and it is said: “Who will cure him now?”. The dying person concludes that this is the time for departing. The leg joins the other leg.” [Al-Qiyaamah: 26-29]

They place him in his shroud, his leg joins his other leg. Then he is carried upon the shoulders and taken to a dark hole. If he was a transgressing criminal he cries out: “Woe to it! Where are you taking it?

“The drive that day will be to your Lord” [Al-Qiyaamah: 30]

Then he is lowered into this ditch and dirt is thrown upon him until he is sealed in it. If he was a criminal, Allaah – The Most Perfect and The Most High – says:

“So he neither believed nor did he pray. Rather he belied and turned away.” [Al-Qiyaamah: 31-32]

This transgressor will remain in his grave alone, there will be no-one to sit with him and no-one to keep him company. He will feel the heat of the fire, smell its foul odour, and be tortured therein. This man’s grave will sqeeze in upon him so much so that the bones of his rib cage will cross each other. Despite all this punishment and all this torture and pain, he will hope that the hour will never be established. For this man knows that the hour is far worse and of he will be in greater loss on that Day.

The man hears ‘As-Saakhah’ from within his grave, and what is ‘As-Saakhah’? It is the second blowing of the trumpet. This is when all that is in the graves shall be raised and ressurrected. So the criminal will cry:

“Woe to us, who has woken us from our resting place?” It will be said: “This is what the Ever-Merciful promised and the messengers where truthful.” [Yasin: 52]

The earth will be torn away from above him. This man will see the heavens being cleft assunder, the stars falling and being scattered, the oceans in their greatness bursting forth, burning, the graves will at that time bring forth their contents.

“Every person shall know what he has sent forth of good and bad deeds at that moment.” [Al-Infitaar: 1-5]

Then he will raised up and driven to the crowding place: ‘Al-Mahshar’.

“That day, the mother who is nursing her child will become careless of it, the mother who is carrying her child will drop her load. That day, mankind will appear as if they are drunk yet they they are not drunk. Indeed the punishment of your Lord is great.” [Al-Hajj 1-2]

The mother will come to her son and say: “Oh my son, my breast was a container for you, my womb was a container for you. Oh my son I seek from you a hasanah (merit) that I may approach Allaah with. My son, do not be greedy towards me”. In the world this son would have sacrificed his life, rather many lives for merely the happiness of his mother so how does he treat her now? He responds to her plea: “Get away from me! Leave me! Indeed I am in need of this merit more than you.”

“So when ‘As-Saakhah’ comes. That day a man will flee from his brother, from his mother and his father, from his wife and his children. That day every man shall have enough to make him careless of others.” [Al-Abasa: 33-37]

So mankind will wait in this crowding place for 50,000 years, after which Allaah, The Most Perfect and The Most High, will come to judge them. So He will call the criminal and say to him, “Oh so and so, did I not give you of the cold water to drink? Did I not give you a healthy body? Did I not give you many bounties? What have you done with all that which I bestowed upon you?” So the man replies, “I have done nothing my Lord.”

So he lies to his Lord on that day. Allaah says: “Where are the witnesses!”. So the Angels come and bear witness that this criminal did not pray in those moments of prayer, he drank, fornicated, lied, cursed and insulted. He turned away from belief and was proud and arrogant. So the criminal says to his Lord, “I do not accept accept a wintness except one from myself.” His Lord replies to him, “And you have that?”

“The day when we shall seal their mouths, there hands will speak to us and their legs will bear witness to that which they used to earn.” [Yasin: 65]

So he turns to his skin and says to it: it was only for you that I was arguing.

“Nay, when the earth is shaken a true shaking and your Lord comes with the Angels in rows. That day the Fire will be brought near. That day man will remember but how will that remembrance avail him? He will say, ‘Woe to me! Would that I had put forth something for this life.’ “ [Al-Fajr: 21-24]

This man then remembers. This criminal remembers that when he heard the call for prayer and he did not respond to it. He remembers when he woke and the sun had already risen yet he had not prayed al-fajr. This man remembers when he abused this one, when he slandered that one, when he earned that unlawful wealth, when he struck this one and killed that one. This criminal remembers every sin with which he disobeyed Allaah with. That day all his remorse and regret amounts to nothing. Then Allaah will say, “Sieze him and fetter him. Then throw him into the blazing fire. Then put a chain which is 70 cubits long through him. Indeed he did not used to believe in Allaah, The Most Perfect, The Most High.”

The Angels will then drag him upon his face into the fire. As he enters it he will see his friends from the world already present.

“Every time a nation enters it curses it sister nation.” [Al-a'araaf: 38].

So he is greeted with curses and given a wretched abode in which to abide. The fire encompasses him from all sides roasting, burning his skin completely,

“Whenever their skins have been done (burnt away) we replace them with new skins so that they may taste of the punishment.” [an-Nisaa: 56].

Their food in the fire is Ad-Daree’ (a thorny plant).

“No food will they have except Ad-Daree’. It neither nourishes nor removes hunger.” [Al-Ghaashiyah: 6-7]

When they eat it they choke due to the thorns. So when they are choking they ask to be rescued with water, so they are rescued with an intensly boiling water which grills their faces when they appoach it. When they drink from the water, due to its heat, it cuts their intestines and causes them an increased pain. They eat from Az-Zaquum. They eat a bitter fruit which cannot be tasted.

“Indeed the tree of Zaquum will be the food of the sinners. Like boiling oil, it will boil in the belies, like the boiling of scalding water. It will be said : Drag, sieze him and drag him into the midst of the blazing fire. Then pour upon his head the torment of boiling water. Taste! You were pretending to be the Mighty the Generous.” [ad-Dukhaan: 43-49]

Due to this intense pain, suffering and anguish they are experiencing they call upon the guardian of hell-fire,

“They call, Oh Maalik let your Lord destroy us” After many years he responds to them with two words “You are staying.” [43:77].

After all of this, they have one last chance and they call upon their Lord, “Oh our Lord we were indeed astray! Oh our Lord we were indeed misguided, we did fall short. Return us to the world so that we can do good instead of that which we used to do.”

Allaah replies to them, “Rot in it and do not speak to me. After this they do not speak nor do they utter.”

They are then called from afar, “Oh dwellers of the fire, do you know what this is?” They reply, “Yes that is death in the form of a ram.” Death is then slaughtered in a place between Al-Jannah an An-Naar. It is said to the dwellers of the fire, ever-lasting life without death.

As for the other group, the ones who obeyed their Lord in this world, let us describe briefly their fate:

When he is placed into his grave it is widened and made spacious for him. He smells the sweet fragrance of Al-jannah and feels some of its comforts. He sleeps in his grave like a bride on her wedding night who no-one shall awaken except her beloved. When the cry comes he is gathered to the crowding place and waits there for 50,000 years. This time passes as if it were the time between Zohar and Asr. Then the Lord of the worlds comes to make judgement, so He calls His slave saying, “Oh my slave, do you not remember that sin, do you not remember this sin.” So the slave replies, “My Lord I have perished!” So Allaah replies to him, “I hid it in the world for you and this day I forgive it.” This good man is handed his book in his right hand. Due to his happiness he runs to the people and says “Take it; read my book. Indeed I used to think I would meet my accounting.”

“So he will be in a content life.” [Al-Haaqah: 19-21]

Then he will be crowded from a group of al-jannah. The Jannah has eight gates and between each gate is a distance that would take 40 years to traverse. There comes a day when the gates are crowded. So as this slave of Allaah enters Al-Jannah he is greeted with salaam (peace). He sees before him 4 rivers:

“… In it are rivers of water, the taste and smell of which are not changed. Rivers of milk of which the taste never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those wo drink and rivers of clear and pure honey …” [Muhammad: 15]

He has therein a house and he knows this house as he knows his dwelling in this life. His house is made from bricks of gold and silver. In it he has wives from the Hoorul-’een.

“And Hooron ‘een, like untouched, unseen, precious pearls. A reward for what they used to do.” [Al-Waaqiah: 22-24]

“Indeed we have created them a special creation, made them virgins, loving only their husbands of equal age.” [al-Waaqiah: 35-37]

Every time they cohabit with their husbands they return to being virgins. Outside this house he has a tent, in it he has wives. When he goes to one of them, the other does not see him.

In Al-Jannaah the righteous slave has everything he desires, wishes and wants. He neither feels extreme heat nor the bitter cold:

“They will see there neither the excessive heat of the sun nor the bitter cold.” [Al-Insaan: 13].

There is not a tree in Al-Jannaah except its trunk is made of gold. When he requires its fruit he does not need to get up from his place, since it comes to him:

“The bunches of fruit thereof hang low, within reach.” [al-Insaan: 14].

“They are served by youthful boys who never age. If you were to see them you would think them scattered pearls.” [al-Insaan: 19]

So he resides therein, tranquil and at ease. No pain, no ill feeling and no foul speech. Life without death, lasting with no end.

These are not mere stories that we tell to amuse ourselves or scare one another, rather they are the destinies of the ones who obey Allaah and those who disobey. Allaah calls His slaves to repentance many times in every day so avail these opportunities. Repentance has only three conditions, that you be sincere to Allaah, that you leave the sin and that you make a firm resolve that you never return to the sin.

So be the children of the Hereafter and not the children of this life; a party in Paradise and a party in the Hell-fire.

Source: Kalamullah

A Remarkable Story! By Anonymous

The undermentioned incident is narrated by Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak
(RA). He was a man of great learning and he lived in the era of the
Abbasids. This incident reflects the love and attachment with the Noble
Quran. It also Manifestates the comprehensiveness of the Noble Quran.

An elderly Arab lady was sitting at the trunk of a tree, on the way to
Haj. Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) happened to pass that way. He was
also heading for Baitullah, for Hajj, and to the Sacred tomb of the Holy
Prophet (saw). Seeing this lady very disturbed
and in a state of despair, (distressed) he spoke to her. The discussion
is recorded as follows:

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah

The lady: “The word from a merciful Lord is Peace” (Surah 36 Aayat 58).
She meant that the reply of salaam is from Allah, Most High, Himself.
She said further: “Those whom Allah sendeth astray, there is no guide
for them.” (Surah 7 Aayat 186). She meant that she has lost her way.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Where are you coming from?

The lady: “Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the
Musjid-e-Aqsa (invioble place of worship) to the Musjid-e-Haraam” (Far
distant place of worship) (Surah17 Aayat1). She meant that she had come
from Musjid-e-Aqsa.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): How long are you in this place?

The lady: “For three nights” (Surah 19 Aayat10).

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): What arrangements are made for your
food?

The lady: “And who (Allah) feedeth me and watereth me” (Surah 26 Aayat
79). She meant that somehow or the other, her food is provided to her by
Allah.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Is there any water for Wudhu?

The lady: “And ye find not water, then go to high clean soil and (make
tayammum) rub your faces and hands.” (therewith) (Surah 4 Aayat 43). She
meant that she makes tayammum, due to not finding water.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Here is some food. Partake of it.

The lady: “Strictly observe the fast till nightfall” (Surah 2 Aayat
187). She indicated that she is fasting.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): This is not the month of Ramadaan.

The lady: “And he who does good of his own accord (for him) lo! Allah is
responsive, aware”. (Surah 2 Aayat158) meaning that I have observed an
optional (nafl) fast.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): It is permitted to break the fast
when in a journey.

The lady: “And that ye fast is better for you, if you did but know.”
(Surah 2 Aayat 184)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Speak like how I speak.

The lady: “He (man) uttereth no word but there is with him an observer
ready” (Surah 50 Aayat 18). She meant that since every word of a person
is observed and recorded, she is taking precaution by speaking only in
the words of the Holy Quran.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Which clan do you belong to?

The lady: “Follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge, lo! The
hearing and the sight and heart of each of these it will be asked”
(Surah 17 Aayat36). She meant those things that you have no knowledge
of, nor do they concern you, you are wasting your strength (senses) by
enquiring about them.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Forgive me. I have certainly made a
mistake.

The lady: “Have no fear this day. May Allah forgive you” (Surah 12 Aayat
92)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Would you like to travel on my camel
and meet your caravan?

The lady: “And whatsoever good ye do Allah knoweth it” (Surah 2 Aayat
197). Meaning that if you will do this good deeds towards me, Allah will
recompense you for it.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Well, then you may mount it.
Saying this he made the camel to sit down.

The lady: “Tell the believing men (when confronted by women) to lower
their gaze”. (Surah 24 Aayat 30). Hadhrat Abdullah understood and
(turned) looked away. While she was mounting, the camel jerked and her
clothes got estrangled in the saddle (dorsers) and she proclaimed:
“whatever of misfortune striketh you, it is what your hands have
earned.” (Surah 42 Aayat 30). In other words she was drawing Hadhrat
Abdullah bin Mubarak’s (RA) attention towards this mishap.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) understood and he tied the legs of the
camel and he straightened the straps of the saddle (or dorser). She
applauded him for his proficiency and capability by saying “And we made
Sulaiman to understand” (Surah 21 Aayat 79). When the journey was about
to begin, the lady recited the Aayats which are read when undertaking a
journey “Glorified be he who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not
capable (of subduing them). And lo, unto our Lord we are returning.”
(Surah 43 Aayat 13).
Hadhrat Abdullh bin Mubarak (RA) held the bridle (or nose string) of the
camel. He began to hum the (Huddi) famous Arabic song for travelling,
and he started walking very fast.

The lady: “Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice” (Surah 31
Aayat 19). Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) understood. He began
walking slower and he lowered his voice.
The lady: “Recite of the Quran that which is easy for you.” She meant
that instead of humming the Huddi, he should rather recite the Holy
Quran.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) began reciting the Holy Quran.

The lady became very pleased and said “but none remember (accept advice)
except men of understanding” (Surah 2 Aayat 269).

After reciting the Holy Quran for a while, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak
(RA) asked (the lady if she had a husband) (if he was alive) “O Aunt,
have have you a husband? (meaning is he living)

The lady: “O you who believe, ask not of things which if they were made
known unto you, would trouble you” (Surah 5 Aayat 101). She meant that
no questions should be asked regarding this matter which indicated that
her husband has most probably passed away. Finally they (caught up) met
the caravan.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Do you have any son or relative
(friend) in this caravan who has connection (contact) with you?

The lady: “Wealth and children are an ornament of life of the world”
(Surah 18 Aayat 46). She meant that her sons were with this caravan and
he has provisions with him.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): What work are your sons doing for the
caravan? (Hadhrat Abdullah’s object for asking was to make it easy for
him to recognise her son).

The lady: “And landmarks, and by the star they find a way” (Surah 16
Aayat 16). She meant that he is a guide for the caravan.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Can you tell me their name?

The lady: “Allah chose Ibrahim as (for) a friend” (Surah 4 Aayat 125).
And Allah spoke directly unto Moosa” (Surah 19 Aayat 12). By reciting
these Aayats the lady informed him that her sons names were Yahya,
Ibrahim and Moosa.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) called out these names in the caravan
and immediately three young people came forward.

The lady: (addressing her children) “Now send one of you with this your
silver coin unto the city. And let him see what food is purest there and
bring you a supply thereof” (Sura 18 Aayat 19) In other words she
instructed them to feed Hadhrat Abdullah (RA).

When the food was brought, she told Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA):
“Eat and drink at ease for that which ye sent on before you in the past
days.” (Surah 69 Aayat 24), and with this Aayat she recited another
Aayat, the object of which was to convey (show) her gratefulness to him
for his good conduct and courtesy. The Aayat was: “Is the reward of
goodness aught save goodness?” (Surah 55 Aayat 60).

Their conversation terminated on this Aayat. The lady’s son informed
Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) that his mother has been speaking in
this manner, i.e. using only the Aayats of the Holy Quran in her speech,
for the last forty years.

AL-BA‘ITH-The Resurrector

How can you reject Allah, when you were dead and then He gave you life, then He will make you die and then give you life again , and then you will be returned to Him? ( Surat al-Baqara, 2:28)

All people who have or will ever live are mortal. Everyone dies and is buried. Despite this obvious fact, however, most people avoid thinking about death and their subsequent resurrection. The Qur’an describes their situation, as follows:

They will ask: “Are we to be restored to how we were when we have become perished, worm-eaten bones?” ( Surat an-Nazi‘at, 79:10-11)

The Qur’an provides the most explicit answer to this popular delusion by proclaiming:

He makes likenesses of Us and forgets his own creation, asking: “Who will give life to bones when they are decayed?” Say: “He Who made them in the first place will bring them back to life. He has total knowledge of each created thing.” (Surah Ya Sin, 36:78-79)

As these verses indicate, Allah created humanity and granted different qualities to everyone. Indeed, down to his or her fingerprints, each person has unique characteristics. As our Creator, He can re-create each person in the very same manner as many times as He wills. Allah displays this coming resurrection each autumn, when nature begins to “die” and then actually experience a type of “death” during winter. Yet when spring comes, we see dry branches blossoming, nature being revived and becoming green all over. Furthermore, this “resurrection” has been happening without any interruption since time began. For Allah, resurrecting each person is as easy as this. The parallel features of these two resurrections are stated in several verses, as follows:

He brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living, and brings Earth to life after it was dead. In the same way, you too will be brought forth. ( Surat ar-Rum, 30:19)

So look at the effect of Allah’s mercy, how He brings the dead Earth back to life. Truly, He is the One Who brings the dead to life. He has power over all things. ( Surat ar-Rum, 30:50)

Another meaning of the beautiful name Al-Ba‘ith is “sending out Prophets.” Allah sent Messengers to warn their people and bring good news in order to call them to the right path. He revealed books to some of his Messengers so that they could bring people out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of true knowledge. No doubt, this is a great blessing of Allah to His servants. In the Qur’an, Allah relates that:

Mankind was a single community. Then Allah sent out Prophets bringing good news and giving warning, and with them He sent down the Book with truth to decide between people regarding their differences. ( Surat al-Baqara, 2:213)

Allah showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them and to purify and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 3:164)

Source: Names of Allah

Chapter 5: a Jewish Backgrounder to the Tongues Controversies.
This is the work I am presently addressing. Right now I am working in Talmud Bavli Megilah 21a, where it describes the role of the Reader in the ancient synagogue. After that I am going to press into the role of Greek in ancient Jewish synagogues. There has been only two books I have found on this topic and they do not provide too much detail. Hopefully more research will uncover answers to this important question.

It has been a long time since I have had to use my Hebrew to read the Talmud. Although I know modern Hebrew and studied classical Hebrew, the Talmud is a genre to itself.

Chapter 6: Language and Liturgy in the Early Church.
This chapter extends what is learned from Chapter 5 and incorporates Patristic literature into the mix. The emphasis especially focuses on an important passage supplied by Epiphanius. This chapter is 99% complete but it awaits the completion of chapter 5 before being posted. It doesn’t really make sense otherwise. This is one of the more important chapters of the whole book.

Chapter 9: the Literalist Interpreters.
Cyril of Alexandria was a part contributor to this camp, and he was one of my first attempts at Patristic translations. Many more belong to this literalist camp which I have pretty much completed. My next Patristic writer on this subject that I need to research is Chrysostom–I am not really looking forward to this one because he wrote so much, is overused by so many modern day writers and my initial response about his coverage on this subject is that it is weak. I have to go through a lot of work with Chrysostom to get little results. After that all I have left is John of Damascus.

Chapter 10: Origen on the Gift of Tongues.
This has been posted on Scribd in pdf format and is in the process of being converted into html and being posted here. While working on this, I have found some commentaries and a small portion of my translations in this chapter needing some attention. Hopefully this new draft should be posted in the next few days.

This chapter is not considered fundamental to the project, but does dispel many myths concerning Origen and the gift of tongues.

Chapter 11: The Oneness Tongues Movement
This chapter along with chapter 6 are the critical chapters of the whole book. It is 90% near completion, lacking only some final research in Cyprian, Hippolytus and Erasmus.

Chapter 12: Thomas Aquinas
This is complete, just a few minor finishing touches. He warped my mind with his Aristotle influenced framework. It will come quickly after chapter 11 is posted.

Chapter 13: The Evolution of Tongues in the English Bible
Out of all the chapters this has been the most difficult to research. The quality, availability and the ability of the writers of this age have so far thwarted in giving definitive answers as to why “unknown” got liberally added to tongues in the Book of Corinthians in the Geneva Bible and expanded to other Bibles after that. My hunch it is over the use of Latin exclusively in the Catholic Church public liturgy and this is one of John Knox’s diatribes against them. Maybe I am wrong. But this is all I have so far…

Chapter 15: The Irvingites.
This chapter has been completed and posted on Scribd. One of these days I will migrate it here to html, though it isn’t high on my list of priorities. It also surprises me the level of interest represented by hits on Scribd on this chapter is way less than the one on Origen. The Irvingites have a more central role to play in the evolution of the gift of tongues than Origen.

Chapter 16: Higher Criticism.
It was written, posted last year with some friends to review and withdrawn. It received good reviews but it needs just a little more tlc.

Chapter 17: The Pentecostal Stream of Tongues.
Thanks to the library at Calvary Temple in Winnipeg, a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Church, I was able to retrieve many old Pentecostal works on the subject. Still though, the transition from Azusa Street, which believed and published tongues being a foreign language to the definition being a prayer language about 20 years later is still not clear. The initial Pentecostal fathers who penned the idea of it being a prayer language has not been uncovered.

The other chapters not listed here I do not consider as critical and do not require so much intensive effort. Some are completed and will be posted when time permits.

Many thanks to Brill for providing me with a copy of Stéphanie J Bakker’s The Noun Phrase in Ancient Greek: A Functional Analysis of the Order and Articulation of NP Constituents in Herodotus (ASCP 15; Leiden: Brill, 2009).

I actually received it a couple weeks ago, but I’ve been too busy to post lately. I’m about half way through the book thus far and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The first half of the book is a discussion of word order within the noun phrase and the second half deals with the function of the Greek article within the noun phrase. Part II is particularly excellent and unmatched in the literature on Ancient Greek. You can expect a full two or three part review probably toward the end of December or early January.

Wow, this is a great book.

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Lying on the sand getting some sun off the coast of Rhodes, Greece in the summer of 2005.  Life was good.  Then in a flash, a thought popped into my mind.

I’ve come this far, why not go another step further.  Right then and there I decided to do it.

Found an (expensive) flight and took off for Constantinople; present-day Istanbul and took off the next day.

One propeller flight to Athens and then another propeller flight to Istanbul.  I landed at 10pm with no idea where I was going to go.  This was the only city I had gone to where not only did I not arrange accommodations beforehand but also didn’t bother looking up metro maps or even where the airport was on a city map.  I had virtually no sense of direction. 

It turns out sometimes being young and ignorant isn’t cool.  I didn’t feel cool.  Not in Turkey anyway.

I was scrambling and scared! 

Istanbul has a population of over 13 million people.   How many of them do you think would be kind enough to help a tourist at 10 pm, much less help him find his way downtown and a place to stay.  Ya I didn’t think so.

After paying the 60 Euro fee (be warned, you have to pay to enter Turkey) I made change and got on the subway.  I had no idea where I was going and to make matters worse, I have no Turkish language skills.  I did what anybody would do.  I followed the locals. 

I got off the subway and transferred to a trolley.  Looking back I have no idea why and how I did that.  After a short ride I started seeing massive mosques and thought nothing would happen to me around holy sites.  So I got off and started on foot.

Without knowing it I had stumbled upon the Sultanahmet District, the ancient part of Istanbul, or better yet, Constantinople. 

Here I found the fabled and head-shakingly beautiful Greek-inspired Agia Sophia which contains priceless Greek Byzantine relics (now hidden in back rooms for reasons I’ll leave up to you to decide).  Across the way the stunning Blue Mosque.  Topkapi Palace down the street.  Hippodrome.  This was it.  I found it.  Stunning and grandiose.  I can’t imagine how much more beautiful these sites looked when the visiting Romans and Venetians first laid eyes on them hundreds of years earlier. 

I didn’t have too much time to reflect as the time was now 11:30 and I still didn’t know where I was going to sleep.  I was up finding a Turkish bath too.  Were they open this late?  Did Turkey have a law against sleeping in park benches?  I didn’t know and didn’t want to find out.  I’ve heard Turkish prisons are a bitch.

After some wandering around history I found a hotel, which at this point felt like I just found an oasis in the desert. 

Taksim is traditionally the place where tourists like to stay while here.  Plenty of bars and action.  For some reason I didn’t want to venture all the way cross town to Taksim.  If I’m going to Turkey I want to be surrounded by locals.  So with that in mind, I got a room, dropped off my bags and headed out.  The hotel manager asked to keep my passport for safety reasons. 

I always feel nervous about leaving my most valuable travel document with a stranger.  But when it doubt, it’s better to do it.  You never know what you’re going to confront when sightseeing.  I found out what could happen, the hard way.

For some inexplicable reason I unconsciously decided not to take my passport, credit card or debit card with me on this night.  

By the end of the night I was glad I didn’t.

Picture this:  Underground bar.  Dark.  Having a drink in a booth closer to the back.  30 minute walk from my hotel.  Alone. 

A big man approaches and asks to sit with me in the booth.  We’ll call him Bill.  I think nothing of it.  He sits.

After a few minutes of small talk, two women quickly approach.  One sits on Bill’s side while the other sits next to me.  The waiter quickly follows with a glass of wine for each lady and also brings along various finger snacks and dips.

The couple across the booth start to speak Turkish.  The woman next to me speaks broken English and immediately starts asking me if I want to have sex with her.  I say no.

She persists.  I continue to say no.

Hindsight as we all know is 20-20.  Little do I know at that point that I was becoming a victim of a classic scam.  One that is pulled on tourists all over the world, on a consistent basis. 

I don’t know how and why it didn’t dawn on me earlier but I finally realized that this was actually happening to me.  I have plenty of street smarts but I guess when you’re confronted with a situation you only read about or see on television, your brain can’t grasp the fact that this is actually happening.  Careful not to offend her and her pimp, who for all I know is sitting across the booth from me, I make up a story about how my wife and kids are waiting for me back at the hotel.

She doesnt’ buy it and is now getting increasingly frustrated at the rejection.  She begins to speak Turkish to the rest of the group. 

I analyze my situation and realize that I’m in a very tough spot.  If I make a run for it I will push her out-of-the-way, possibly injuring her and definitely upsetting her boss in the process, whoever and wherever he is. On top of that I have to run across the entire bar and up the stairs.  Too big of a risk.  Not an option.

Besides if I make a run for it I leave without paying the bill.  Remember the Turkish prisons? 

I also remind myself that nobody knows I’m here.  This is a big mess and I don’t know what to do.  I have no out.  And on top of that I have another two major things going against me:  I’m Greek (which for all I know makes me the enemy in Turkish eyes).  I’m Canadian (which for all I know makes me rich in Turkish eyes). 

I stay and face what comes next.

The women suddenly leave. 

Bill asks me if I want another drink. I say no.

Bill asks for the check.

The waiter approaches, leaving it face down on the table.

Bill glances at it.  Looks up at the waiter and questions his math.

The total is $637 Canadian Dollars!

I had only one drink!

The waiter, not wanting to deal with any conflict, points to Bill and then points to me.

He orders both of us to come into a back room. 

I’m still oblivious.  Bill is my friend right?  He’s on my side right? 

My  mind is racing.  Millions of thoughts are coming and going.  $637??!!  What will I have to do?  Wash dishes?  Clean floors?  Sell myself?  What will I have to do to pay off this debt?

The small room,probably the size of a small bathroom, is occupied by three giants (Bill, the Owner and what looked to be a Bouncer) and one small, wimpy looking dude (me). 

“MONEY”, demands the Owner.

“I don’t have any money brother”.

Not believing me, he starts padding me down.  His hands checking my shirt, my pants and pockets.  He finds something….and it’s not what you think.

“What’s this?  Money?” 

I pull out my drivers’ licence, explaining that this is for driving only.  I also pull out my camera and $20 million lira ($20 CDN dollars).  Not a big score in their eyes.

“Take this money, brother.  This is all I have”, pleading.

30 seconds of silence.  Go ahead and count to 30. 

Now do it in a court-room-like setting where you don’t know what to expect, in a country you’re not sure about, dealing with laws you’re afraid to confront, in a bar that’s 30 minutes from your hotel room, alone with nobody knowing you’re there.

Let me save you the agony. 30 seconds of silence in that room was torture enough.

“Go. Get out of here”, says the Owner.

Without thinking I sprint.  Across the bar, up the stairs, out the door and down the main boulevard towards the hotel.  Istanbul’s normally polluted air was intoxicating that night. 

I run back to my room, taking both the main, lit streets and back streets just in case they changed their minds and came after me, they wouldn’t be able to find me easily.

What was Bill doing in the small room?

Nothing.

Bill had already done his job.  Bill convinced me I was his friend.  He hooked me in and hoped I had some big, Western cash on-hand.  That way everyone could get a huge cut.  

I consider myself very lucky.  The money doesn’t matter.  I was lucky to make it out alive and virtually unscathed.

As I said something told me not to load my pockets before I went out that night.  I decided to leave my passport at the hotel.  I didn’t bring my credit card or debit card either.  I took only one piece of ID, a camera and $20.  I can’t imagine what could have happened to me that night.  A confiscated passport?  Credit and debit cards maxed?  No money left?  As I said I’m lucky to have made it out alive and unscathed.

Make no mistake about it.  Constantinople is a stunning city!  If you get a chance to go you must.  It is a city that has mystified millions of people who have gazed upon it.  I have no regrets about visiting Turkey’s largest city.  I will probably visit again.  This of course could have happened anywhere in the world.  And it does.  Beware of the scam.  If you’re not this could happen to you too.

In case you’re wondering, no I didn’t visit a Turkish bath.  Next time I guess.

As someone who has a highly vested interest in syntax databases, I’m excited to hear David Lang say that Syntax databases will be coming to the next version of Accordance.

I will be giving a presentation at BibleTech: 2010 on the very subject of Syntax databases currently titled “Greek Syntax Databases: Retrospect & Prospects” in which I’ll examine, compare and critique the two currently available syntax databases: Opentext.org & Cascadia Syntax Graphs and then also (hopefully) present some of my own work on representing Greek syntax. Currently the abstract isn’t yet up, but this is a good summary. I’ve been hoping to do something like this for some time, so I’m looking forward to the conference. Much of my presentation has been brewing for at least 14 months, though very little has showed up here on my blog.

I definitely look forward to seeing what Accordance has to offer when they release their next version and may very well consider looking into getting it if I like what I see.

…and I’m always willing to do a review copy…

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Praise be to Allaah.

The days of Tashreeq are the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah. There are several verses and ahaadeeth which speak of their virtue:

1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And remember Allaah during the appointed Days”

[al-Baqarah 2:203]

These are the days of Tashreeq. This was the view of Ibn ‘Umar and most of the scholars.

2 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning the days of Tashreeq: “They are days of eating, drinking and remembering Allaah.” Dhikr (remembering Allaah) is enjoined during the days of tashreeq in several ways:

-         Remembering Allaah immediately after the prescribed prayers by reciting Takbeer. This is prescribed until the end of the days of Tashreeq according to the majority of scholars.

-         Remembering Him by saying Bismillaah and Allaahu akbar when slaughtering the sacrificial animal. The time for slaughtering the hadiy and udhiyah lasts until the end of days of Tashreeq.

-         Remembering Allaah when eating and drinking. It is prescribed when eating and drinking to say Bismillaah at the beginning, and to praise Him (say Al-hamdu Lillaah) at the end. According to the hadeeth narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Allaah likes His slave when he eats something to praise Him for it, and when he drinks something to praise Him for it.” Narrated by Muslim, 2734.

-         Remembering Him by saying Takbeer when stoning the Jamaraat on the days of Tashreeq. This applies only to the pilgrims on Hajj.

-         Remembering Allaah in general. It is mustahabb to make a lot of dhikr during the days of Tashreeq. ‘Umar used to recite Takbeer in Mina in his tent, and when the people heard him they recited Takbeer too and Mina echoed with the sound of their Takbeer. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So when you have accomplished your Manaasik [rituals of Hajj], remember Allaah as you remember your forefathers or with a far more remembrance. But of mankind there are some who say: “Our Lord! Give us (Your Bounties) in this world!” and for such there will be no portion in the Hereafter.

201. And of them there are some who say: “Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!””

[al-Baqarah 2:200-201]

Many of the salaf regarded it as mustahabb to make a lot of du’aa’ during the days of tashreeq.

The words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “These are days of eating, drinking and remembering Allaah” indicate that eating and drinking during the days of Eid are means that help one to remember Allaah and obey Him; perfect gratitude for the blessing means using it to help one obey and worship Allaah,

In His Book Allaah commands us to eat of good things and thank Him for them. So whoever uses Allaah’s blessings to commit sin is showing ingratitude for the blessing of Allaah, so he deserves to have it taken away from him.

3 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade fasting on these days: “Do not fast on these days, for they are the days of eating, drinking and remembering Allaah.” Narrated by Ahmad, 10286; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3573.

See Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif by Ibn Rajab, p. 500.

O Allaah, help us to do righteous deeds and make us steadfast until death; have mercy on us, O Most Generous Giver. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the World.

Source: Islam qa

PUT THE GLASS DOWN!

A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in
it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, ‘How much do
you think this glass weighs?’

‘50 gms!’…. ‘100 gms!’…… ‘125 gms’ …… the students answered.

‘I really don’t know unless I weigh it,’ said the professor, ‘but, my
question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few
minutes?’

‘Nothing’ the students said.

‘Ok! What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?’ the
professor asked.

‘Your arm would begin to ache’, said one of the students.

‘You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?’

‘Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress and
paralysis and have to go to hospital for sure!’ ventured another
student; and all the students laughed.

‘Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?’
asked the professor.

‘No’

‘Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle stress?‘ The students
were puzzled.

‘Put the glass down!’ said one of the students.

‘Exactly!’ said the professor. ‘Life’s problems are something like
this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem okay. Think
of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer
and they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything’.

‘It’s important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life,
but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to have trust in Allah (swt) and to ‘put
them down’ at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way,
you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh and strong and can
handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!’

So, as it becomes time for you to leave office today, Remember friend
to ‘PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY’ and have tranquility by putting trust in
Almighty Allah (swt).

Holy Quran: “He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the
believers that they might have more faith added to their faith”.
(48:4)

Tranquillity is sign of strong faith while worries and stress is
sign of weak faith.

Tell to your mind every day before you go to sleep: “YAA AYYATUHAN
NAFSUL MUTMAINNAH, IRJI’II ILAA RABBIKI RADHIYATAN MARDHIYYAH,
FADKHULII FII IBAADII WADKHULII JANNATII”. (Al-Fajr 89:27-30)

“O soul that is at rest satisfied. Return to your Lord well-pleased
(with Him), well-pleasing (Him). So, enter among My servants, and
enter into my Paradise”.

By worrying so much, do not turn your life to hell. Good luck.

——————————————————–

As Salam
AbdurRahman.org

MAKKAH: The Kaaba was dressed in its new kiswa (the black cloth cover) early Thursday during a ceremony attended by officials from the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, the kiswa factory and a number of Saudi and foreign residents of the holy city.

The new cover was pulled up about three meters above the ground so that pilgrims cannot reach the fabric.

The dress, prepared in a special factory built in Makkah by King Abdulaziz more than 70 years ago, is made of pure silk which is dyed black and stitched with gold and silver threads at a cost of SR20 million ($5 million).

The Kaaba is dressed twice every year during the months of Shaaban (the month before Ramadan) and Dhul Hijja, the month of pilgrimage. It is also washed twice every year from inside by Zamzam water and perfumed with oud.

The dress is 658 square meters in size and consists of 47 pieces each 14 meters long and 95 centimeters wide, is made with 670 kilograms of silk and 150 kg of gold and silver used to engrave Qur’anic verses on the cloth.

It also includes a special dress for the Kaaba door known as the burqa (face cover) that is 6.5 meters long and three meters wide with verses of Qur’an engraved on.

Source: Arab News

i have been studying off and on about the origins of scripture. A good book to start with would be “The Bible: The Biography” by Karen Armstrong.

According to history, during the birth of civilization, when the world was immensely tribal (still is in some sense), the Jewish people were worshipping and sacrificing to a pantheon of gods that were rife in that part of the world. Baal, Ra, and then there was this warrior god called Yahweh. Now, he was part of the pantheon as well. (Research Google: ‘Yahweh’, ‘Warrior’) He was known to be a jealous god. well, if you were a warrior god, i think anger management would definitely be on the list of things to deal with.

Somewhere in their history this band of traveling nomads came upon the one and only God. And they begin using titles like Yahweh to describe their understanding of God. Now, this is where the details get fuzzy. Because, either the Jews were projecting their beliefs on this new God or God was YHWH all along. What I can’t seem to get away from is the reality that the Jews were writing about God from their perspective. I wonder, since they were human, if they too got their perception of God wrong? That maybe the verses we have come to quote are specific interactions with the divine, but it was a record of them getting it right and getting it wrong. They weren’t shy enough to not share both. They thought it was important to share both to let us know we could do the same. And it is with the Bible I make my case. Now, before I go on, I know this incredibly murky subject. I don’t presuppose that the Bible isn’t useful or that it can’t be used by God, but many in the conversation would almost seek to deify scripture. And scripture even says scripture isn’t the point or plumbline with which we should live by. Even when the Jews talk about the law which in Hebrew is the word ‘halakh’ it means ‘to walk’….to be a Jew was to journey. To find God is to journey, not read about Him in a book. Sure, we can start there. But, what is the Bible; a collection of ‘experiences’ from the ‘chosen’ (I think the Jews thought this) one of God. Like one of my friends reminded me recently, the Bible was written in hindsight. For example, when they went to war and lost, it could be possible that they looked back on it and thought they must have ’sinned’ against their God, couldn’t they? Which was a prevalent view in most religions in this time in history. Now, its’ gets scary when someone might respond with such assurance about these events, because neither of us were there. This is simply to open dialogue on the subject. When the Bible talks about the word of God, most would interpret that phrase to mean the Book….yet the phrase when separated out from the Greek or Hebrew signifies a person. It signifies a relationship.

And so it is important to understand that when we come to scripture that all the things that were recorded weren’t meant for us to go and find a way to see how God works, or to apply situational ethics or to create a doctrine. It was meant to show us what it looks like to be in a relationship with the Divine and how the divine thinks we all could be just like Him/Her.

And people wrote it, either with an audience or a message in mind. For example, Luke had a heart for the Samaritan and so added a whole bunch of stories about Jesus interacting and restoring the status’ of Samaritans. John was writing to a Greek community of people. The OT writers were writing to fellow community members (some of the time). And sometimes what they record is people getting it wrong. But not even that, I think we reduce the message if we began using ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ language. It is a series of stories of a people who thought that their God chose them to deliver a message globally, and they soberly wrote that they didn’t get it many times. That that is what the Divine wanted of them. I think somewhere along the way God showed up and did decide to use Israel as the messengers, but I also think that the ‘people of God’ recorded their perspectives, points of view, and theological standpoints and even when they misunderstood (which some people take their misunderstandings and create theological statement out of them.) and when they found their way. Beautiful stuff when that happens!

The Bible points to relationship. To romance. Not a set of rules. Romance that drips with mysterious intrigue.

Read in English

Mεταφραση Ξενια

Αλ Αζιιζ -Ο Παντοδυναμος

Μην φανταστείτε ότι ο Αλλάχ θα σπάσει την υπόσχεσή του στους Αγγελιοφορους Του. Ο Αλλάχ είναι ο Παντοδύναμος, ο Κύριος της Ανταποδοσης. (Surah Ibrahim, 14:47)

Αυτό το όνομα του Αλλάχ εκφράζει ότι Αυτός πάντα θα θριαμβεύει και ότι Ποτέ δεν μπορεί να αντικρούστει, γιατι μόνο  Αυτος εχει πραγματική δύναμη.

Ο Αλλάχ δημιούργησε την ταξη  του σύμπαντος, το σύνολο των νόμων του (γνωστων  και άγνωστων), και όλα τα όντα στη Γη.

Η  άπειρη δύναμη του Αλλάχ, η οποία εκδηλώνεται σαφώς στο σύμπαν, και η  αδυναμια του κάθε δημιουργηματος είναι  πράγμα προφανές. Το δημιουργημα  μπορεί να υπάρξει μόνο,  να επιβιώσει, και  και να κανει πράξεις, εφόσον Εκεινος Διαταζεi έτσι.

Δεν υπάρχει αμφιβολία,  οτι αυτό το αίσθημα της αδυναμιας ισχύει και για την ανθρωπότητα. Δεν έχει σημασία πόσο ευπορα η ισχυρα  μπορεί να είναι καποιοα ατομα, κάθε πρόσωπο είναι ασθενες και ανήμπορο στην οψη του Αλλάχ. Ουτε  κτήματα,, χρήματα, ή η κοινωνικη θεση τους μπορεί να τους προστατεύσει από την τιμωρία του Αλλάχ. Μόνο όσοι παράδινονται σ ‘Αυτόν, υπακουν τις εντολες Του, και προσπαθούν να κερδίσουν τη συγκατάθεσή Του, θα προστατεύονται.

Στο Κοράνι,  Ο Αλλάχ υπόσχεται να χορηγήσει υπεροχή στους πιστούς δούλους Του. Ο Αλλάχ έχει γράψει: “Θα είμαι νικητής, εγώ και Αγγελιοφόροι μου.”

Ο Αλλάχ είναι  ο πιο Ισχυρος, Παντοκράτορας. (Al-Surah Mujadala, 58:21) … και έχει αποστείλει το  Κριτηριο. Εκείνοι που απορρίπτουν τα εδαφια του Αλλάχ θα έχουν μια τρομερή τιμωρία.  Ο Αλλάχ είναι Πανίσχυρος, Κυριος  της Ανταποδοσης. Al (Surah »Imran, 3:4)

Ο Αλλάχ μαρτυρά ότι δεν υπάρχει  αλλος θεος  εκτος απο Αυτον. Αυτη ειναι η μαρτυρια του Ιδιου, των Αγγελων  Του και εκεινων που προικισθηκαν με γνωση υποστηριζοντας παντοτε την δικαιοσυνη. Δεν υπαρχει αλλος θεος εκτος απο Αθτον, τον Παντοδυναμο, τον Σοφο. 3:18)

Και ας μην σε πικραινουν οι ομιλιες τους γιατι καθε εξουσια και τιμη ανηκουν στον ΑΛΛΑΧ. Εκεινος ειναι που ακουει και γνωριζει τα παντα. (Surah Yunus, 10:65)

Σε ενα σχετικο χαντιθ ενας βεδουινος  είπε κάποτε στον Προφήτη (saw): “Διδαξε με κάτι να πω.” Ο Προφήτης (saw) απάντησε:“Πές:« Δεν υπάρχει άλλος Θεός εκτος από τον Αλλάχ, τον Ενα  που δεν εταίρο. Πολλοι  επαίνοι να σ ‘Αυτόν: Δοξα στον Κυριο των κοσμων. Και δεν υπάρχει καμία δυναμη εκτός απο τον  Αλλάχ τον Παντοδύναμο, τον Σοφο. ‘ “(Sahih Muslim)

Διαβαστε στα Ελληνικα

AL- ‘AZEEZ – The Almighty

Do not imagine that Allah will break His promise to His Messengers. Allah is the Almighty , the Lord of Retribution. (Surah Ibrahim, 14:47)

This name of Allah expresses that He will always triumph and that He can never be refuted, for only He has true power.

Allah created the universe’s order, all of its laws (both known and unknown), and all beings on Earth. In the face of Allah’s infinitepower, which clearly manifests itself in the universe, the feebleness of every created being and thing is obvious. All that is created can only exist, survive, and act if He commands so. No doubt, this feeling of feebleness also holds true for humanity. No matter how well-off, strong, and powerful people may be, each person is weak and helpless in Allah’s sight. No possessions, money, or status can protect them from Allah’s punishment; only those who surrender to Him, live by His orders, and strive to earn His consent will be protected.

In the Qur’an, Allah promises to grant superiority to His loyal servants. Allah has written: “I will be victorious, I and My Messengers.”

Allah is Most Strong, Almighty. (Surah al-Mujadala, 58:21) … and He has sent down the Furqan. Those who reject Allah’s Signs will have a terrible punishment. Allah is Almighty, Lord of Retribution. (Surah ‘Al Imran, 3:4)

Allah bears witness that there is no deity but Him, as do the angels and the people of knowledge, upholding justice. There is no deity but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 3:18)

Do not be grieved by what they say. All might belongs to Allah. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (Surah Yunus, 10:65)

A pertinent hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saas) relates: A bedouin once said to the Prophet (saas): “Teach me something to say.” The Prophet (saas) replied: “Say: ‘There is no god but Allah, the One with no partner. Allah is the Greatest by far; much praise be to Him. The Lord of the Worlds be praised; and there is no power and no strength save in Allah the Almighty, the All-Wise.’” (Sahih Muslim)

Source: Names of ALLAH

Origins of Democracy in Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherer Groups

A paper by Doron Shultziner, PhD, referenced in Part I of this essay and entitled, “Evolution and Liberal Democracy,”  highlights the shortcomings of definitions of democracy in the 20th century that ignore and obscure the evolutionary nature of democratic ideals.  The discussion is found in a section labeled, “Setting Democracy in a Larger Evolutionary Context,” 

Democracy at the beginning of the 21st century is a term that denotes a variety of regimes that share similar main characteristics. Democracy has a thin procedural definition and thicker definitions. The thin definition of democracy is a political system with universal suffrage and “whose leaders are elected in competitive multi-party and multi-candidate processes in which opposition parties have a legitimate chance of attaining power or participating in power” [citation in original]….Thicker definitions of democracy require effective and enlightened participation as well as human rights and freedoms beyond what is necessary for a democratic process [citations in original]. Thicker standards of democracy usually relate to liberal-democracies, namely democratic countries which are free and respectable to human rights. The two categories, however, are not necessarily synonymous [citation in original].

Defined by these criteria, however, democracy is a very recent invention that appeared only in the 20th century after women gained voting rights. The merits of these definitions have been recognized by political scientists for providing a useful analytical tool and for distinguishing democracies from other types of regimes, at least since the 20th century [citation in original]. 

Unfortunately, 20th century definitions of democracy, useful as they may be to distinguish democracies from nondemocracies at present, are not applicable to democracies prior to the 20th century [citations in original].  The famous democracy of Athens (and other Greek cities) about 2500 years ago is not a democracy by today’s definitions because not all men, women or slaves were allowed to vote or have any say about matters that influenced their lives. For similar reasons, the American democracy was lacking significant characteristics prior to the 20th century. In Switzerland, men gained suffrage as early as 1848; women in Switzerland, however, began gaining suffrage only in 1971 and the Swiss canton Appenzell Innerrhoden was forced by the Supreme Court to give women voting rights as late as 1990.  Still, it would not make much sense to argue that Switzerland became a democracy only in 1971 or 1990. 20th century definitions of democracy detach democracy from its historical roots for reasons of analytical clarity. It is not that these historical roots are not unacknowledged; rather, they are perceived to be irrelevant for the purpose of analyzing the unprecedented number of democratic transitions in the 20th century. This logic, as I intend to show in the following pages, is flawed because it fails to recognize seminal historical democracies as forerunners of a much deeper and profound phenomenon….

Egalitarian Social Structures in the Paleolithic Era

I believe that much of our ability to understand the transition to democracy is impaired by the focus on 20th century standards of democracy. I argue that shared features exist between 20th century democracies, democracies prior to the 20th century, and ancient forms of human egalitarian societies.

Estimates for Homo sapiens appearance are between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago [citation in original].  We know that all human beings lived throughout this period, known as the Paleolithic era (2 million -10,000 B.C.E), in small nomadic societies of hunters and gatherers (i.e. foragers) who were usually of an average group size of 25 people, although at times of festivals group size could reach over one hundred [citations in original].  Human beings in the Paleolithic era have [sic] had the same physiological and psychological capabilities as us (“biologically they were us” [citation in original], although their cultures and ways of life were obviously different.  These forager bands sustained their ways of life and social structures into the 20th century. Forager bands, albeit influenced to different degrees by external factors, were extensively studied around the world by anthropologists, and these studies provide valuable information regarding behavior and social structures in the Paleolithic era. 

An important characteristic of forager bands, which has become a topic of interest especially since the 1990’s, is their egalitarian social structures.  Wide agreement exists that the social structure of small nomadic societies in the Paleolithic era was egalitarian [citations in original]. Even at the present, after a long period of environmental influences, only a few examples of nonegalitarian foraging societies exist, and these too are affected by high population density and large group size, sedentary life, and other specific characteristics [citation in original]. As Boehm [citation in original] puts it, “Indeed, this egalitarian approach appears to be universal for foragers who live in small bands that remain nomadic, suggesting considerable antiquity for political egalitarianism.”  No strict hierarchical structure existed in foraging bands: decisions had to be reached through consensus, leaders usually had little, if any, substantial power over other group members, and people could come and go as they pleased [Emphasis added].

The Linkage Between Technology and Democracy

As Shultziner points out:

The Paleolithic era, however, ended with the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago, human beings began to settle permanently in one place and to grow plants and animals for their subsistence. This period in human history is known as the Neolithic era. Gradually, sedentary agriculture became the dominant mode of life in most areas of the world inhabited by humans (but not in all areas). The invention of agriculture revolutionized the environmental conditions human beings once lived under, and consequently remarkably changed social structures. Small egalitarian foraging societies were replaced by larger scale sedentary settlements, some of which later became empires. As these sedentary settlements developed and grew, central authoritative power of large scale societies came into being. Put differently, the invention of agriculture resulted in far-reaching consequences on the social structures of human beings.

Shultziner aids understanding by putting the “entire time-span of human history, into an intriguing, one-day, temporal scale.

In order to put the emergence of democracy, and the transitions to democracy, in the right context, then, it would be helpful to compare the scope of this phenomenon to the entire time-span of human history, namely at least 102,000 years (if not 200,000) since Homo sapience began to dwell on the earth. A helpful perceptual scale and illustration would be to compare the relative portion of historical periods to their equivalent in a one-day scale. For more than 21.5 hours of the day (more than 90% of human history), human beings lived in small egalitarian societies of foragers. The emergence of agriculture and the beginning of the Neolithic era occurred in the last 2.5 hours of the day. The Athenian democracy briefly emerged and disappeared 36 minutes before midnight. The modern territorial sovereign state system that began to crystallize after the Peace of Westphalia (1648) was created in the last 8 seconds of that day. Democracy, as a type of regime that qualifies to 20th century definitions, emerged barely 2 seconds ago! In this context, and by 20th century standards of the term, democracy is a very recent development in human history [Emphasis added].

Shultziner goes on to state:

Although democracy by 20th century definition may be a very new phenomenon, I argue that its historical roots and causes lie in ancient times, long before the Athenian democracy came into being [citation in original].  In order to gain a better understanding of why we witness a fast rate of transitions to democracy in recent history we are required to look more closely at the egalitarian social structures under which human beings lived through the Paleolithic era.

In Part III of this essay, I shall discuss the development of these egalitarian social structures as they relate to the culture of early man and their linkage with what is known about social behavior in other species.

The Near-Sighted, Albeit Democratic, Mr. Magoo

In conceptualizing the evolution of democracy, it is just as important to look to the past as to the future.  Nonetheless, most individuals tend to have a myopic view of democracy that regards this form of governance as static, rather like an image fixed on photographic paper.  The prevailing perspective is that democracy, as it exists today, is  basically what it has always been in the past.    However, when one adopts the farsighted view of history, nothing could be further from the truth.   Also, this near-sighted view fails to perceive that democracy has, and historically has had, many forms.

Ben Wilson, in reviewing Professor John Keane’s recently published book, The Life and Death of Democracy, for the Literary Review  has written about the historical myopia.

‘NEW, NEW, NEW,’ Tony Blair marvelled early in his premiership; ‘everything is new.’  He personified a willing amnesia that is so much part of our age. The temptation to dwell in the present, with its bewildering newness and illusion of liberation, outweighs an interest in history as a vital part of our political life. This is an age ruled by restricted definitions of what is relevant. The decline of history and the languishing state of our democratic institutions and liberty are not unrelated.

The myopic perspective prevents our seeing the forest, because our collective noses are plastered to one gigantic, vision-obscuring tree, viz., the rapidly changing NOW of the Information Age.  This NOW is compelling and distorting, simply because it prevents an apprehension of the NOW in a broader, more encompassing perspective that integrates the Past and the Future with the Present in something approaching the Eastern notion of the “Eternal NOW.”  To the modern individual caught up in the bombarding influx of information, the NOW is incredibly short, flashing by so quickly that it disallows a broader view of his/her personal involvement in the larger context of existence.  Our present moments, our NOWs become like a snap of the fingers played out in “real time,” as opposed to the same snap played out in exceedingly slow motion.

Toward a Farsighted, Historical View of Democracy

Wikipedia elaborates the compelling, myopic perspective that has been exacerbated by the Information Age.

At the core of Keane’s book is the author’s belief that history is a necessary key for understanding democracy in the present time. Keane’s worldwide perspective is an important corrective to the (mainly Western) idea that democracy has one and only distinctive form; one type of model that can be brought as a gift to peoples with different attitudes and histories. There is no such a thing as a singular form of democracy. Following the line of thinking that history is the only way we can make sense of what democracy means, The Life and Death of Democracy provides fresh details of the obscure origins of old institutions and ideals like government by public assembly, female enfranchisement; the secret ballot, trial by jury, and parliamentary representation.

Keane observes that even…

In the Greek world, democracy was not a single or fixed form: although the assembly was its core institution, it resembled an odyssey, in which different mental imaginings and various practical experiments were par for the course.

But, as Keane also points out, democracy did not originate in the Athenian Assembly as commonly believed.  David Aaronovitch in a review in Times Online  observes:

Departing from the convention that locates the birth of democracy in late 6th-century BC Athens, he finds evidence of citizen assemblies in the ancient Middle East, epitomised by how the men of Nippur were called upon to decide the fate of those accused of killing one Lu-Inanna; four fellow Nippurians, including the dead man’s wife, the euphoniously named Nin-dada, were sentenced to death.

Wilson goes on to point out that Keane also noted how India revived and invigorated democracy after it was on the verge of dying out in Europe following World War II. 

In doing so it defied limited theories of democracy.  It showed how democracy was not confined to white men and women; it succeeded in a vast country with a diverse society; and it riveted the loyalty of illiterate millions with scant knowledge of Western traditions…. Later in its development, Indian democracy incorporated many innovations to keep itself in good order: power-checking mechanisms such as people’s courts (lok adalats), participatory budgets, water consultation schemes and other grass-roots manifestations of civil society. It resembles the banyan tree, whose vast size is supported by many entwined trunks and roots.

But, even this grand display of the evolution of democracy from the historian’s perspective, developed over the course of nearly 1,000 pages, cannot do justice to the origins of democracy when viewed from the viewpoint of the anthropologist or the evolutionary biologist.  Doron Shultziner, Ph.D., currently a Post-doctoral Fellow and Instructor at Emory University, presented a fascinating paper to the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 1-4, 2005 while still a doctoral student  in the Politics & International Relations Department of Lincoln College of the University of Oxford.  The paper was entitled “Evolution and Liberal Democracy,” which reviews evidence tracing the origin of democracy  to the egalitarian structure of small hunter-gatherer groups in the Paleolithic era dating back at least 10,000 years.  Shultziner’s thesis is that “the transitions to democracy in the 20th century cannot be fully understood without reference to the evolutionary forces that shaped the human mind and human societies.”

Shultziner’s intriguing work will be discussed in the next part of this essay.

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AL- ‘ADHEEM- The All-Glorious

Everything in the heavens and everything in Earth belongs to Him. He is the Most High, the All-Glorious . ( Surat ash-Shura, 42:4)

Allah’s might and grandeur is surely beyond humanity’s grasp. Yet, within the limits of their wisdom, people can still see and grasp His might. Indeed, the entire universe abounds with countless examples that indicate His greatness. A closer look at our own planet will make people feel His sublimity.

The heavens carrying clouds that weigh many tons, mountains rising thousands of meters in the air, oceans harboring millions of living beings, a lightening flash and the noise of thunder following it, and billions of living beings that have submitted to Allah—all of these and countless other details are clear signs of Allah’s existence.

To have a better grasp of our Lord’s grandeur, let’s move beyond the limits of our world and think: We live in an unbounded space, the universe, which contains billions of galaxies with countless billions of stars. We live in one of these galaxies on a planet called Earth, which rotates about its axis at a velocity of about 1.670 kilometers an hour. Just thinking on these vast figures make us realize that our existence in the universe is as insignificant as the existence of a dust particle on Earth.

As this example also reveals, people given to sincere contemplation can grasp the majesty of their Lord, Who creates billions of galaxies and holds all of them in His hand. In one verse, Allah informs us about His beautiful names:

Allah, there is no deity but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and Earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge, except for what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and Earth, and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the All-Glorious. ( Surat al-Baqara, 2:255)

Source: Names of Allah

Their ready-to-wear collection for Autumn 2009 isn’t that new at all but since it’s freezing right now I decided to do a post about this season’s clothing. And since there’s still 50 percent of Dutch blood flowing trough my veins I thought it should be about Viktor & Rolf. In their ready-to- wear collection for the Fall 2009 have those neutral colors that can be seen on almost every runway this season. But we’re still talking about Viktor & Rolf and who are they when they don’t add a little crazy touch to them. I see alot of geometric shapes that come in small details but also draped garments and neutrals (as I’ve said before in this post). Personally I think the main focus in these garments is in the overall shape of them. The details look magnificent, big bold and beautiful mixed with minimalism. The Greek sculptures that were on the runway kind of showed were they got their inspiration from.

Pictures: style.com

According to Wikipedia, “The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate), named after the Classical Greek philosopherSocrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate rational thinking and to illuminate ideas.”

When using this classical method of teaching, the student takes initiative to drive the conversation to stimulate divergent thoughts on various topics. In my classrooms, I often use the Socratic Method to create a safe forum for students to bring out their ideas through guided questioning. When I present an idea or question, I typically stay out of the conversation and simply take notes without expressing any approval or disapproval. Often when teachers intervene in conversation, the student ends up following the thoughts of the teacher authority (soldier mentality). One of the natural outcomes of the Socratic Method is to encourage risk taking, critical thinking, and problem solving. All skills in developing leaders, not soldiers (the paper pushing worksheet teacher). The students are situated in a circle with me deliberately sitting outside it. I simply state my thought or question, and then the students take over. Obviously, it requires scaffolding and modeling at first, but when the students understand the Socratic process, the conversations go beyond any textbook, video or worksheet on the same topic. I have always preached the Apple motto of “Think Different,” and have based most of my teaching with that in mind.

Then the idea came to me that fit naturally together, the marriage between classical learning of Socrates and the collaborative real time environment of web 2.0. Hence, my name Socratech on Twitter. I began thinking how my traditional classroom setup using the Socratic Method can be integrated using educational technologies. A flurry of ideas came to me when thinking how web 2.0 is the 21st century version of the Socratic Method, where we encourage risk taking, divergent ideas, and an open forum to express our thoughts. Now I just needed to implement a lesson with middle school students that exemplifies the almost eerie similarities between Socrates and web 2.0.

One such example that has successfully remixed the Socratic Method with web 2.0 is when I hold virtual Socratic Seminars in Edmodo. Edmodo is a private social communication platform where I allow my students to converse on various topics guided by me or another student. The beauty of Edmodo is that the conversation provides real time threading with multimedia capabilities to enhance the experience. I held a Socratic Seminar using the Did You Know YouTube video. I guided the conversation by asking questions related to video that stimulated debate and other questions about technology and the Internet. The ideas expressed was beyond any teacher lead discussion on the same subject.

Its no wonder why History was my favorite subject in school. Now it is making sense…

*It is important to note that academic language is strictly enforced in any online or oral Socratic Seminar to mirror the scholarly language of classical Greece. I tell my students to use starter sentences such as “I agree” or “contrary” backing it up with always a support (because) statement.

For more information on the Socratech Seminar Method of learning, feel free to contact me.

The tenth of Dhul-Hijjah is `Eid ul- Ad-ha or the day of an-Nahr (slaughtering). It marks the conclusion of the major rites of Hajj, and commemorates Allah’s bounty on His Messenger Ibraheem, when He gave him a ram to sacrifice as ransom for his son Ismaa`eel, (peace be upon them both).“The day of al-Fitr [i.e. `Eid ul-Fitr], the day of an-Nahr, and the days of Tashreeq are `Eid days for us Muslims. They are days of eating and drinking.” [Ahmad, an-Nasaa’ee, Saheeh ul-Jaami` #8192]

On these days, the pilgrims complete their rites, Muslims continue with their `Eid celebrations, and are prohibited to fast. “The days of tashreeq are days of eating, drinking and mentioning Allah.” [Muslim]

The word Udhiyah means an animal of the ‘An’aam class (i.e., camel, cow, sheep or goat) that is slaughtered during the days of Eid al-Adha because of the Eid and as an act of worship, intending to draw closer to Allah thereby.

This is one of the rituals of Islam prescribed in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and according to the consensus of the Muslims.

In the Quran:

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)”

[Noble Quran 108:2]

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the ‘Aalamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists). He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims”

[Noble Quran 6:162]

The word Nusuk means sacrifice; this is the view of Sa’eed ibn Jubayr. And it was said that it means all acts of worship, including sacrifice, which is more comprehensive.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food. And your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God Allah), so you must submit to Him Alone (in Islam). And (O Muhammad) give glad tidings to the Mukhbitun [those who obey Allah with humility and are humble from among the true believers of Islamic Monotheism]”

[Noble Quran 22:34]

In the Sunnah:

It was narrated in

[Sahih al-Bukhari (5558) and Sahih Muslim (1966)]

that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sacrificed two white rams speckled with black. He slaughtered them with his own hand, said ‘Allahu akbar’ and put his foot on their necks.”

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stayed in Madinah for ten years, offering sacrifice (every year on Eid).”

[Narrated by Ahmad, 4935; al-Tirmithi, 1507; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Mishkat al-Masabih, 1475]

.

It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) shared out sacrificial animals amongst his companions, and ‘Uqbah got a sheep that was six months old. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, I got a sheep that is six months old.” He said, “Offer it as a sacrifice.”

[Narrated by al-Bukhari, 5547]

It was narrated from al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever offers a sacrifice after the prayer has completed his rituals (of Eid) and has followed the way of the Muslims.”

[Narrated by al-Bukhari, 5545]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) offered sacrifices, as did his companions (may Allah be pleased with them). And he said that sacrifice is the way of the Muslims.

Hence the Muslims are unanimously agreed that it is prescribed in Islam, as was narrated by more than one of the scholars.

But they differed as to whether it is Sunnah mu’akkadah (a confirmed Sunnah) or it is obligatory and it is not permissible to omit it.

The majority of scholars are of the view that it is Sunnah mu’akkadah. This is the view of al-Shafa’i, Malik and Ahmad according to his most well-known view.

Others were of the view that it is obligatory. This is the view of Abu Hanifah and one of the views narrated from Ahmad. This was also the view favored by Ibn Taymiyah who said: “This is one of the views narrated in the madhhab of Malik, or it appears to be the view of Malik.”

From Risalat Ahkam al-Udhiyah wa’l-Dhakah by Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him).

Sheikh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Udhiyah is Sunnah mu’akkadah for the one who is able to do it, so a person should offer the sacrifice on behalf of himself and the members of his household.”

There are six conditions for the Udhiyah:

It should be one of the An’am class of animals, which are: camels, cattle, sheep and goats, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food”

[Noble Quran 22:34]

Bahimat al-An’am (translated here as “beast of cattle”) includes camels, cattle and sheep. This is what is well known among the Arabs, and this was the view of al-Hasan, Qatadah and others.

It should have reached the age stipulated in Shari’ah, which is six months for a sheep and the age at which the animal is considered to be an adult for any other animal, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not sacrifice anything but an adult animal, unless it is difficult for you, in which case you may slaughter a six-month old lamb (Jadh’ah).”

[Narrated by Muslim]

.A mature animal means one that is considered to be an adult.

In the case of camels it means one that is five years old.

For cattle, it means one that is two years old.

For sheep it means one that is a year old.

The Jadh’ah is that which is half a year old. So it is not correct to sacrifice a camel, cow or goat that has not yet reached maturity, or a sheep that is less than six months old.

It should be free of any faults that would render it unsuitable for sacrifice, of which there are four:

An obvious defect in one eye, such as when the eye
is sunken in its socket, or when it sticks out like a
button, or is white and obviously defective.
Obvious sickness, whose symptoms are clearly
apparent in the animal, such as fever that prevents
it from grazing and causes loss of appetite; mange
that obviously affects its flesh or its health; deep
wounds that affect its health, and so on.
Obvious lameness, which prevents the animal from
walking normally.
Emaciation that leaves no marrow in the bones, when
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) was asked about what should be avoided in
Udhiyah, he gestured with his hand and said: “Four: a
lame animal which is obviously lame, a one-eyed
animal whose defect is obvious, a sick animal whose
sickness is obvious, and an emaciated animal that no
one would choose.”

[Narrated by Malik in al-Muwatta’
from the Hadith of al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib]

. According to
a Hadith narrated from him in al-Sunan, he said:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) stood up among us and said:
‘There are four which are not permissible for
sacrifice,’” and he mentioned something similar.

[Classed as Sahih by al-Albani in Irwa’ al-Ghalil, 1148]

.These four faults render an animal unsuitable for sacrifice, and they include similar faults or more severe faults. So the following animals are also unsuitable for sacrifice:

One that is blind in both eyes.
One that has eaten more than it can stand, until the
danger has passed.
One that has encountered difficulty in giving birth, until
all danger has passed.
One that has suffered something that could kill it, such
as strangulation or a fall from a high place, until
the danger has passed.
One that is unable to walk because of a defect.
One that has had one of its forelegs or hind legs cut
off.

If these are added to the four defects mentioned in the text, the number of those that cannot be offered as sacrifices reaches ten – these six and the four mentioned above.

The animal should belong to the person who is offering the sacrifice, or he should have permission for that either on the grounds of Shari’ah or from the owner. The sacrifice is not valid if the animal slaughtered does not belong to the person who is sacrificing it, such as one that has been taken by force, stolen, or taken on the basis of a false claim, etc, because it is not permissible to draw closer to Allah by means of sin. A sacrifice offered by the guardian of an orphan from the orphan’s property is valid if that is customary and if he feels sad about not offering a sacrifice.

A sacrifice offered by a guardian from the property of the person under his care is valid, if done with permission.

No one else should have any rights to the sacrificial animal; the sacrifice of an animal that is held in pledge is not valid.

It should be slaughtered at the time specified in Shari’ah, which is from after the Eid prayer on the Day of Sacrifice until sunset on the last of the days of al-Tashriq, which is the 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah. So the days when the sacrificed may be offered are four: the day of Eid after the prayer, and the three days after that. Whoever slaughters it before the Eid prayer is over, or after sun sets on the 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah, his sacrifice is not valid, because of the Hadith narrated by al-Bukhari from al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever slaughters (his sacrifice) before the prayer, it is meat that he has brought to his family, but that is not the sacrifice.” And he narrated that Jundub ibn Sufyan al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying, ‘Whoever slaughters the sacrifice before he prays, let him replace it with another.’” And it was narrated that Nubayshah al-Hadhali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The days of al-Tashriq are the days of eating, drinking and remembering Allah.’”

[Narrated by Muslim]

.But if he has an excuse for delaying it beyond the days of Tashriq, such as if the animal ran away, without there being any negligence on his part, and he could not find it until after the time was over, or he appointed someone else to slaughter it and that person forgot until the time was over, then there is nothing wrong with slaughtering it after the appointed time. This is by analogy with the one who sleeps and misses a prayer, or forgets it – he should pray it as soon as he wakes up or remember it.

It is permissible to slaughter the Udhiyah at any time, night or day, but it is better to slaughter it during the day, and it is better to slaughter on the day of Eid after the two khutbahs. Each day is better than the day that follows it, because that means that one is hastening to do good.

Sheikh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If anyone wants to offer a sacrifice, and the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah has begun, either because the new moon has been sighted or because thirty days of Dhu’l-Qa’dah have passed, then it is Haram for him to remove anything of his hair or nails or skin until he has slaughtered the sacrifice, because of the Hadith of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When you see the new moon of Dhu’l-Hijjah – according to another version, When the ten days (of Dhu’l-Hijjah) begin – and any one of you wants to offer a sacrifice, let him refrain (from cutting) his hair and nails.” Narrated by Ahmad and Muslim. According to another version, “Let him not remove anything from his hair and nails until he has offered the sacrifice.” And according to yet another version, “ He should not touch his hair or skin.”

If he forms the intention to offer the sacrifice during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah, then he should refrain from that from the moment he forms that intention, and there is no sin on him for anything he may have done before forming the intention.

The reason for this prohibition is that when the person who wants to offer the sacrifice joins the pilgrims in some of the rituals of Hajj – namely drawing closer to Allah by slaughtering the sacrifice – he also joins him in some of the features of ihram, namely refraining from cutting his hair etc.

This ruling applies only to the one who is going to slaughter the sacrifice. It does not apply to the one on whose behalf a sacrifice is offered, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “If any one of you wants to offer a sacrifice.” He did not say, “… is going to have a sacrifice offered on his behalf.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to offer the sacrifice on behalf of the members of his household, and it is not narrated that he told them to refrain from that (cutting their hair and nails etc).

Based on this, it is permissible for the family of the person who is going to offer the sacrifice to remove things from their hair, nails and skin during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah.

If the person who wants to offer the sacrifice does remove anything from his hair, nails or skin then he has to repent to Allah and not do it again, but he does not have to offer any expiation, and that does not prevent him from offering the sacrifice as some of the common people think. If he does any of those things out of forgetfulness or ignorance, or some hair falls unintentionally, then there is no sin on him. If he needs to remove it then he may do so, and there is no blame on him, such as if a nail breaks and it annoys him, so he cuts it, or if a hair gets in his eye and he removes it, or he needs to cut his hair in order to treat a wound and the like.”

The time for offering the sacrifice begins after the Eid prayer on Eid al-Adha and ends when the sun sets on the thirteenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah. So there are four days of sacrifice: the day of Eid al-Adha and the three days after it.

It is better to hasten to offer the sacrifice after the Eid prayer, as the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do, then the first thing he would eat on the day of Eid would be meat from his sacrifice.

Ahmad (22475) narrated that Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not go out on the day of (Eid) al-Fitr until he had eaten, and he did not eat on the day of (Eid) al-Adha until he came back, then he would eat from his sacrifice.

[Al-Zayla’i narrated in Nasb al-Rayah (2/221) that Ibn al-Qattan classed it as Sahih]

.Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Zad al-Ma’ad (2/319):

‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The days of sacrifice are the Day of Sacrifice (yawm al-nahr) and the three days after it.” This is the view of the imam of the people of Basra, al-Hasan; the imam of the people of Makkah, ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah; the imam of the people of Syria, al-Awza’i; and the imam of the fuqaha’ of Hadith, al-Shafi`i (may Allah have mercy on him). It was also the view favored by Ibn al-Mundthir. The three days are specified because they are the days of Mina, the days of stoning (the Jamarat) and the day of al-Tashriq. It is forbidden to fast on these days. It was narrated via two isnads, one of which supports the other, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “All of Mina is the place of sacrifice, and all the days of al-Tashriq are days of sacrifice.” End quote.

[The Hadith was classed as Sahih by al-Albani in al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 2476]

.Sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymin said in Ahkam al-Udhiyah, concerning the time for offering the sacrifice:

It is from after the Eid prayer on the Day of Sacrifice until the sun sets on the last of the days of al-Tashriq, which is the thirteenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah. So there are four days of sacrifice: the day of Eid after the prayer, and three days after that. Whoever slaughters his sacrifice before the Eid prayer is over, or after the sun sets on the thirteenth, his sacrifice is not valid … but if he has an excuse for delaying it until after the days of al-Tashriq, such as if the animal ran away with no negligence on his part, and he did not find it until after the time was over, or if he delegated someone to do it on his behalf and his deputy forgot until the time was over, then there is nothing wrong with offering the sacrifice after the time has ended, because there is an excuse, by analogy with the fact that one who sleeps and misses a prayer or forgets it should offer the prayer as soon as he wakes up or remembers it.

It is permissible to offer the sacrifice during that time by night or by day, but it is better during the day, and the day of Eid after the two khutbahs is the best time. Each day is better than the following day, because that is hastening to do good. End quote.

It says in Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Da’imah (11/406):

The days of sacrifice for pilgrims performing qiran or tamattu’, and for offering the sacrifice (Udhiyah) are four: the day of Eid and the three days after that. The time for sacrifice ends when the sun sets on the fourth day, according to the soundest scholarly opinion. End quote.

The Sunnah for one who wants to slaughter the udhiyah is to say when slaughtering it:

Bismillah, wa Allahu akbar, Allahumma hadtha minka wa laka, hadtha ‘anni (or if it is being offered on behalf of someone else, hadtha ‘an [fulan]), Allahumma taqabbal min [fulan] wa aali [fulan].

(In the name of Allah, Allah is most great. O Allah, this is from You and to You. This is on my behalf (or if it is being offered on behalf of someone else, This is on behalf of [So and so]). O Allah, accept (this sacrifice) from [So and so] and the family of [So and so]) – here he should mention his name instead of [fulan] or [So and so].

What is obligatory here is to say Bismillah; the rest is favored but is not obligatory.

Al-Bukhari (5565) and Muslim (1966) narrated that Anas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sacrificed two horned rams that were white speckled with black. He slaughtered them with his own hand, said Bismillah and Allahu akbar, and put his foot on their necks.

Muslim (1967) narrated from ‘A’ishah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered that a horned ram be brought to him so that he could sacrifice it. He said, “O ‘A’ishah, give me the knife.” Then he said, “Sharpen it on a stone.” So she did that, then he took it and took the ram, and he lay it down and prepared to slaughter it. He said, “In the name of Allah, O Allah accept (this sacrifice) from Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and the Ummah of Muhammad,” then he sacrificed it.

Al-Tirmithi (1521) narrated that Jabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah said: I was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the day of al-Adha at the prayer place. When he had finished his khutbah he came down from his minbar and a ram was brought which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) slaughtered with his own hand. He said, “In the name of Allah, Allah is Most Great. This is on behalf of myself and on behalf of those of my Ummah who have not offered a sacrifice.” Classed as Sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmithi.

In some reports the words “O Allah, this is from You and to You” are added.

[See Irwa’ al-Ghalil, 1138, 1152]

.Allahumma minka (O Allah, from You) means this sacrifice is a gift and provision that has reached me from You. Laka (to You) means, it is sincerely for You alone.

Source: ShareIslam

I thought it fitting that I should do a top ten list of the things that I’m thankful for this year. Considering how little we have this year financially, I’ve really been forced to think about how much we do have in every other way. So, here it goes. I’m thankful for:

1. God’s faithfulness and love
2. My wife’s support through it all
3. Finding a good church
4. My wife’s excellent cooking
5. Being able to read Greek (at least I’m working on it)
6. Graduating from college in May
7. Being able to blog with you all
8. Having a working car (that now has brakes)
9. Books to read
10. Hulu

MSE

Location:

140 Cumberland Street, Toronto

Cost: Avg main is $13

www.hemingways.to

In the heart of Yorkville there’s a cosy little people (or celeb) -watching pub that has the likeness of some Great-Grandfather’s study. Green walls, heavy bookcases laden with old books, equestrian oil paintings lit up with dimmed wall sconces, antique wooden furniture dusty with age —-oh, hang on, that actually is my Great-Granddaddy’s study…

I got carried away.

But you get my drift, Hemmingways has the authenticity of an ol’ pub that Hemmingway himself might have frequented, but with a menu that’s a mash-up of Eastern and Western delights, ie: bruschetta, spring rolls, escargot, Boston Clam chowder, Caesar salads, Greek salads, Tandoori what-nots, roti, pad thai, kung pao whatsits, souvlaki, fajitas….it’s a really eclectic menu.

The ambiance at Hemmingways

I had the chicken souvlaki once and it was great; couldn’t complain. I did however complain about the wine which tasted like that cloth one uses to wipe up counters…YOU know the one! They even confessed that they had that particular bottle sitting out for a while and opened a new one for me.

Chicken Souvlaki $13.99

Besides that one incident (and I only ordered beer after that night), Hemmingways is quite simply: cosy.

And if you can’t make up your mind on what to have for dinner, or if you have picky company to dine with, go to Hemmingways. Lots of food options PLUS beer.